New rail station eases access to cities for rural Yunnan

A railway station built in a town in Yunnan province to boost rural vitalization entered service on Nov.6.

Run by China Railway Kunming Group Co, the station, which is on the line linking Dali Bai autonomous prefecture and the city of Lincang, is expected to benefit more than 300,000 people, according to the local government.

Located next to the Lancangjiang River in Xiaowandong town in Dali's Nanjian county, the Xiaowandong railway station is about 80 kilometers from downtown Nanjian. Four high-speed trains that start from Kunming, Lijiang and Lincang stop over at Xiaowandong railway station every day, making transportation between the town and the larger cities convenient and efficient.

"When I was 20 years old, I would walk for three hours from my home to the town and then I spent seven hours on a truck to reach the county," said Zha Wencai who lives in Lincang's Chajiang village.

He brought his family members to take the train on Saturday.

"I never expected the high-speed train would arrive at my home, which shortens the travel time to Dali to one hour and that to Kunming to three hours," he said, adding that he expects to take his family members to Beijing for a tour.

The train will not only make travel more convenient but will carry agricultural products to more markets, said Huang Jianbo, Party secretary of Xiaowandong.

"It connects the tea market in Nanjian with markets in Lincang, Kunming and places outside of Yunnan province, which will bring more income to more than 100,000 tea farmers in the county," Huang said.

Zha, the resident, plans to take his walnuts and pomegranates to bigger markets via the train.

"The Xiaowandong railway station gives us a ride on the national strategy of rural vitalization," Huang said.